History of Bush Babies Childcare
1991
In late 1991, Ian & Cheryl Cruwys, then of Valley Heights, walked through a disused two-room school building belonging to the Seventh Day Adventist Church. A world of possibilities was opening up for them. Cheryl had been told of this building by, at the time, her boss, Bob Olive of Green Real Estate in Springwood. Bob had been tasked by his long-time friend John Wilson of SDA to see if he could find a suitable tenant for the building, as it had lain empty for some time. Once the building was seen, its future was clear; this would become Bush Babies.
1992
After a lease had been signed and much paperwork, inspection, more paperwork, and a lot of setting up, Bush Babies Preschool and Long Daycare Centre first opened its doors in January of 1992. Some of the first enrolments were done by parents sitting on boxes of still-packed toys and equipment, but when it opened, it was almost full, such had been the response from the people of Warrimoo. Indeed, in just a few short months, the centre began putting names on a waiting list for positions. Their style of child care fitted in well with the local area. Cheryl & Ian have always approached child care from the point of view of creating an open and honest environment where both parents and children alike could depend on Bush Babies to deliver a home away from home for all the families enrolled. Bush Babies was then and still is today based on good old-fashioned care, like spending time at Nanna’s place.
2002
This continued, unabated for some ten years, when Ian & Cheryl decided to sell the business to move off in a different direction. For a short time, Bush Babies was owned and operated by a new family, but this was a time of great change in the child care industry, and soon Bush Babies was swallowed up in the ABC Child Care group of centres.
2008
It remained this way for some years, but when ABC went into receivership in late 2008, the future of the little child care centre was far from certain.
2009
Fortunately, Ian & Cheryl Cruwys again stepped up to rescue it. Bush Babies Childcare was reborn from the ashes of the ABC collapse, and although it was touch and go for a while, the people of Warrimoo and the Blue Mountains came back to rediscover what good old-fashioned family-owned child care was all about. Indeed, there have been to date many happy returns of former Bush Babies, some of whom have enrolled their little ones into the centre that played such a big role in their childhood.
2018
Ian & Cheryl were approached by the Department of Education to take over operations of the OOSH service at Warrimoo Public School. With a lot of urgency and haste, Bush Babies OOSH was set up and has been in operation as an extension of the Bush Babies community ever since. Continuing the care we provide to children who graduate from the childcare and
2024
The time came, after 30 years, for Cheryl and Ian to stand down from running Bush Babies. Robyn, who had worked at Bush Babies for 15 years at that point, and Jim, who returned from living abroad in 2023, took over operations of the service to keep it in the family.
2025
Wycliffe Public School approached Robyn and Jim with the opportunity to take over the Out-of-School Hours Care service. This commenced as a great opportunity for a partnership with a historical community institution that we were very happy to accept. The service commenced operation on the 28th of July 2025, the first day of Term 3.
Now
Buh Babies Childcare is now under the operation of Robyn and Jim, with a great team of educators, continuing to serve the children and families of the community in the best way they can.